The Barbary Wars: American Independence in the Atlantic World

The history of America's conflict with the piratical states of the Mediterranean runs through the presidencies of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison; the adoption of the Constitution; the Quasi-War with France and the War of 1812; the construction of a full-time professional navy; and, most important, the nation's haltering steps toward commercial independence. FranThe history of America's conflict with the piratical states of the Mediterranean runs through the presidencies of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison; the adoption of the Constitution; the Quasi-War with France and the War of 1812; the construction of a full-time professional navy; and, most important, the nation's haltering steps toward commercial independence. Frank Lambert's genius is to see in the Barbary Wars the ideal means of capturing the new nation's shaky emergence in the complex context of the Atlantic world.

Depicting a time when Britain ruled the seas and France most of Europe, The Barbary Wars proves America's earliest conflict with the Arabic world was always a struggle for economic advantage rather than any clash of cultures or religions....more

Paperback, 240 pages

Published
January 9th 2007
by Hill and Wang
(first published August 17th 2005)

Community Reviews

A solid account of the long-simmering conflict between the newly independent American states (not yet United at the outset) and the Barbary states of North Africa. The author provides clear context for events, and brought up several points I was previously unaware of, such as that the treaty with France during the Revolution protected American shipping in the Mediterranean. However, the narrative was a little circuitous at times- repeated mention of the Betsy left me briefly confused as to whethA solid account of the long-simmering conflict between the newly independent American states (not yet United at the outset) and the Barbary states of North Africa. The author provides clear context for events, and brought up several points I was previously unaware of, such as that the treaty with France during the Revolution protected American shipping in the Mediterranean. However, the narrative was a little circuitous at times- repeated mention of the Betsy left me briefly confused as to whether it had been captured multiple times, and this curious looping was also repeated with the construction and launch of the Constellation, United States, and Constitution. ...more

Great read, especially in light of our current conflict with Libya. I had only encountered the Barbary Wars as a sidenote in other historical texts, so it was good to get the whole story from beginning to end like this. Lambert does an excellent job of conveying the facts and placing the conflict in context of the other major events of early US history (the Constitution, War of 1812, etc.).

A workmanlike narrative, but it tends to be superficial and occasionally one dimensional. Nor am I convinced that anything is truly concluded: there's a short rah-rah-we-won closing that historically, stops dead in 1815. A bit more afterward would be welcomed.

It was informative and interesting, but stalled in a few places. I particularly liked the parts that described the adventurous feats of heroism by Americans fighting against the pirates, but those parts didn't last very long.